Mechanical and wetting properties of coated paper sheets with varying polydimethylsiloxane molecular masses in the coating formulation

Coated paper sheets were prepared by immobilizing a thin coating layer of cross-linked polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and inorganic particles onto Whatman filter paper Grade 1 (WFP) substrates. Several coatings that differed in terms of their PDMS molecular masses were sprayed onto WFP substrates to investigate the effect of this variation on the (i) wettability and (ii) mechanical properties of the samples. Different samples having clay or silica particles in the coating formulation were investigated separately. Nonwettable coated paper sheets with promising mechanical properties were achieved and further investigated in terms of (iii) thermal resistance.